EcoPro, a South Korean battery materials manufacturer, has joined hands with US battery recycling firm Cirba Solutions to ramp up its lithium-ion battery recycling business in North America.

According to EcoPro on Thursday, the two sides recently signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate to deal with Washington’s Inflation Reduction Act and expand the global supply chain of electric vehicle batteries. In the EV battery sector, the IRA incentivizes domestic manufacturing and requires certain proportions of critical minerals and battery parts for tax credits.

With the MOU, EcoPro plans to secure scraps such as battery waste based on Cirba Solutions’ local network to preemptively obtain recycling materials. The two sides will further discuss future strategies and iron out detailed plans for cooperation.

“Through the premium recycling experiences of Cirba Solutions, we will look to take EcoPro’s closed-loop eco-system that covers from battery recycling and cathode production to North America,” said Jung Hoi-rim, managing director at EcoPro.

Cirba Solutions, which was established in 1991, received a $50 million investment from Japanese trading conglomerate Marubeni in March last year. The US company announced shortly after that it would invest more than $300 into a lithium-ion EV battery recycling facility in South Carolina.

“Recycling, a key factor in the value chain, will create a circular economy in the EV battery sector,” said Jay Wago, chief commercial officer at Cirba Solutions.

“We expect to expand the supply chain of EV batteries through the cooperation with EcoPro.”